Clare Crawley is about to start filming her season of The Bachelorette , but it looks as if production is scrambling to make adjustments to the travel schedule. As some expected, it’s now been officially revealed that Clare and her men won’t be doing any international travel for her season. In addition, spoiler king Reality Steve shared that he’s hearing the network will soon officially cancel The Bachelor Summer Games entirely.
Usually, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette stars film their first few episodes in or around Los Angeles and then they often head to another spot in the United States for Episode 4. Production then typically heads abroad for a few episodes before the hometown dates and shoots the overnights and final rose ceremony somewhere international as well.
Due to concerns about the coronavirus, there had been talk that The Bachelorette would cut out international travel for Clare’s season. On Wednesday, host Chris Harrison addressed the complicated situation and confirmed to People that Clare and her men will stay within the United States for the entirety of filming.
“It is 100 percent affecting it. I mean, Clare’s season is about to get under production and we’ve already nixed all international travel. Clearly, you can’t. We’re going to keep it domestic. We might even have to keep it in Los Angeles when it’s all said and done. Who knows?” Chris shared when asked how the coronavirus pandemic was affecting the franchise.
“Everything is changing by the hour with this, not even by the day. And so we just have to react, keeping everybody safe,” Chris continued.
In addition to changing travel plans, the host explained that production is implementing additional strategies for keeping all of the contestants safe. He said they have a clinic and doctor at the ready and they have multiple hand-washing stations put together on the set. He said they’re being smart and vigilant, keeping on top of it all, and doing the best they can.
There’s also been speculation that The Bachelor Summer Games might be canceled and Chris acknowledged that’s possible. He may not have been ready to make an official announcement, but Reality Steve posted on Twitter that he’s hearing the cancellation is virtually guaranteed.
“(SPOILER): I’m sure ABC will make it official soon, but ‘Summer Games’ I’m hearing is cancelled due to the coronavirus. With international contestants on the show, it’s too risky and they don’t want to take a chance,” Reality Steve tweeted.
Chris noted that things are uncertain at the moment for Bachelor in Paradise , too. The show is supposed to film in Mexico in June and Chris said its future is up in the air right now. Production could probably find a suitable location to film within the United States, but it appears they’re holding off on deciding anything at the moment.
“So honestly, everything is up in the air right now. And you can’t b*tch and moan about it, you’ve just got to roll with it and do what’s smart,” the host acknowledged.
Clare’s season is slated to begin filming on Friday evening. It’s likely production is scrambling behind the scenes to pin down changes to date locations and possibly even date activities. They may end up avoiding flying altogether, even within the United States. It also seems possible they will begin changing planned dates like group gatherings at concerts, depending on how things proceed with coronavirus concerns.
For now, The Bachelorette fans will need to stay tuned and see what else is confirmed about the summer shows in the days ahead, as people scramble to deal with the escalating coronavirus pandemic.